The cutter, or cut fastball, has been made famous over the last two decades by one of the greatest relievers/closers of all time, Mariano Rivera. It is thrown slightly slower than the average fastball, but has an abrupt, sharp sideways motion. This is primarily caused by two things. First is the pitcher’s grip, which normally involves the middle and index fingers creating unequal pressure on the ball. Once the ball is released, the Magnus Effect takes over. The ball is rotating sideways, and the side of the ball with lower air pressure is the direction in which the ball moves. This pitch is especially deceptive, as it appears to the batter as a normal fastball. However, it can move sideways as far as eight inches in the last ten feet it travels toward the batter.